It’s my belief somebody turned the power out in the Ohio Valley Conference?

Because the offensive electricity in the 2003 football season has suddenly gone away and the scoreboard has suddenly become useless.

For all of you that enjoyed watching the Ray Lewis-led Baltimore Ravens defend its way to a Super Bowl Championship, make the eighth-oldest conference your home for football action.

With the graduation of OVC stars like quarterback Tony Romo, wide receiver Willie Ponder and running back J.R. Taylor, the OVC has been reduced to primarily defensive-oriented conference.

Want proof?

Look no farther than Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The preseason favorite to take home the championship was the so-called offensive powerhouse Southeast Missouri and then they traveled to 1-A Ohio University.

The one constant that head coach Tim Billings could count on every Saturday against any opponent was the offense piling on total yards and points.

This was a team that averaged nearly 35 points per game and had almost every starter returning on the offensive side of the ball.

“I think we can put up some points but now I’m kinda worried about that,” Billings said.

However, somewhere between SEMO and Athens, Ohio, the Indians forgot how to move the ball and take care of it for that matter.

Preseason All-OVC first-team selection Jack Tomco completed 13-of-31 passes for 201 yards and two interceptions.

“Jack threw two interceptions that night but he also had two dropped,” SEMO head coach Tim Billings said. “We had three quarterbacks in there, and none of them played well.”

“We’re not as near as good on offense as we need to be,” Billings said.

Ohio had to drive only a total of 72 yards for their 17 points because of the Indians mistakes and turnovers.

“We realize we had a lot missed opportunities,” SEMO head coach Tim Billings said. “We were inside the 20-yard-line six times.”

SEMO must obviously begin to wonder if they can outscore a high-powered Southern Illinois.

“We are working on ball security all week long,” Billings said. “SIU will run us out of the stadium if we have five turnovers.”

Therefore, Eastern head coach Bob Spoo shouldn’t be as concerned about its current lack of offensive production.

“We had some opportunities on offense,”Spoo said. “Overall, I was displeased with offensive production.”

Eastern’s problems seem to be the same as everyone else in the OVC.

Only three schools scored more than 30 points on Saturday (Samford, Tennessee State and Murray State) but four other teams scored 10 points or less.

“I think we are like most teams in America, we had some questions answered while others remained unsolved,” Murray State head coach Joe Pannunzio said.

Matt Stevens can be reached at [email protected]